


The Quicksilver Kids

by Lonessa



Series: Quicksilver Kiddos [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Auntie Emerald, Auntie Neo, Bring Perry Back 2018, But hell yeah Perry the most underrated faunus ever, Daddy Mercury, F/M, Marcus talking shit in Merc's head again, Maybe Adam will stop by but idk, Oh god did I really write that tag out, Quicksilver Kids, This isn't a serious story, Uncle Roman, at least not as serious as my other stories, not deleting it I'm committed lets go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-30 02:03:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15741888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lonessa/pseuds/Lonessa
Summary: "W-What did you just call me?!"Mercury's worst enemy was boredom. When that boredom decides to turn into a white portal that spits out four kids with silver eyes, and one calls him 'Daddy,' he suddenly wishes he were really fucking bored right now. AKA, the one where Ruby and Mercury's kids are just as much trouble as they were in their youth, and they end up time traveling due to a combination of their semblances. Fun times. Reading 'Wilted' might help you understand this one. Kind of.This is just a fun story to put my OC Quicksilver kids :)





	1. The Silver Eyed Kids

**Author's Note:**

> (Alternatively titled, 'Another Time Travel Story: But It's Quicksilver')
> 
> AN: This is just a story to write out my Quicksilver children that have been sitting in my notes for two years now. So, this story won't be that long, there probably won't be any more than fifteen chapters or so, and this is more of a funny fic, so try not to take it too seriously! I know this trope is really reallyyyy overused, hence the alternative title. Also, since Wilted is getting so damn tense and depressing, this is my stress relief. I FEEL THINGS TOO OKAY?!
> 
> Last thing: POV might jump around a bit between characters in scenes. It's just how I wrote it, my brain is weird, folks.

It wasn't a particularly eventful evening. After battling a Maiden, things have slowed to a grinding halt. Every mission felt tame. Unexciting. Mercury just went about modifying his legs, ensuring they worked properly, et cetera, et cetera.

Cinder's only had those Fall Maiden powers of her for four months and already she thought she had it completely under control. Of course, Mercury had no intentions to correct her. That would be suicide. But ever since she got that weird, magic mojo, she's been getting cockier by the day, and that spelled disaster for her plans if she kept it up.

Course, he didn't really care either way. This plan fell through? Duck out and move on. If it didn't? Reap the benefits. Not that hard to think about.

He didn't mind the stretches of quiet that stemmed from it. Cinder was planning, Emerald was stuck to her hip, and Roman and Neo were off heisting or something, leaving this little warehouse all to himself. He rolled down his pant legs and put away his tools. Tune up is all done. Perfect time for a nap—

Remnant loved to screw with him. Just as he placed his head on the cool table, a ripping noise seared itself into his brain. He jerked up to see an odd, pulsing, silver orb just across from him, tendrils of black ebbing from the very center. Similar to a portal, almost. White rose petals leaked from it, swirling around the room, around him. Then black, then red, then silver. All four colored petals spit out of the black center of the silver orb, filling the room with a sweet scent.

"What the hell—"

Distant shrieking caused him to jump to his feet. A small figure of white in the very center of the orb grew larger and larger before a girl in a large white cloak was spit out. Mercury kicked the table out of the way to see her, and backed up a pace or two to puzzle the girl out. She was a tiny thing, not as tiny as Neo, but about five-foot-four, with skin as pale as porcelain. As she slowly sat up and rubbed gingerly at her head, he caught sight of the black, unevenly cut hairstyle that faded to silver at the ends, and the doe-eyes she sported. Her torso was covered with a black, high collar, sleeveless shirt with diagonal grey stripes, and a thick white belt held up a frilly black combat skirt with a white underlay. Her hands were encased by black gloves with grey palms, and her tights were a solid grey and ran into black boots with white soles.

Mercury couldn't see a weapon on her beyond the flintlock pistol that sat comfortably in the holster on her belt, but then again, the white cloak covered her almost entirely. As she stumbled blindly to her feet, he found her emblem: a pin of a black rose clipped to her cloak, lined with silver. _Hn. She doesn't look tough._

"Owie…" The girl whined as she rubbed at her head gingerly. White rose petals peeled away from her cloak and swirled around her before evaporating in thin air. She looked back at the white, pulsing orb with what he could only identify as disdain. "Well, that didn't work too well…"

"You could say that."

The girl whipped around and gasped as her silver eyes found his steel grey. For a moment, he was thrown off by the intensity within them. Never before had he seen someone with such a pure, metallic eye color like sterling silver. But after the initial intrigue of the rare color, his eyes narrowed at the emotions reflected within her eyes. Nervousness was there, as well as a tinge of fear and a healthy bout of confusion. Recognition was there though. He didn't like that one.

"How…?"

"We know each other, Kid?" Mercury asked gruffly, arms crossed.

She reeled back at the question. A new emotion. Hurt. Another emotion he didn't want to see, but he cared far less about it.

_"Summer!"_

A male voice bellowed from the other side of what he assumed was a portal. It was distorted and stilted, but the girl, Summer he supposed, recognized it. She whipped back around to the white portal and yelled. "Jet! I'm here!"

Within seconds, another figure was within the swirl of black in the center, growing larger and larger. He assumed it was 'Jet'. Summer backed up quick, and bumped into Mercury by accident. She jumped away as if burned, leaving Mercury mildly annoyed now that fear was overriding all of her other emotions.

Mercury's confusion only doubled when the male voice turned into a teenage boy's body. He looked to be around Mercury's age, but that wasn't what bothered him.

What bothered him was that this kid, Jet, looked like his clone. Only difference was he had more of a tan, was an inch shorter, had silver eyes instead of steel and his hair was black and red instead of silver. He emerged from the portal in a full, black business suit, complete with a red pocket handkerchief, black tie, and what looked to be a symbol of broken red moon embroidered on the handkerchief pocket. Fingerless black gloves covered his palms. An ornate silver strap crossed his torso and held a red sheath of silver arrows to his back.

"Summer!" Jet barked again, rushing over to the small girl. He supposed that they were siblings, with their matching silver eyes. His gloved hands clasped her shoulders and looked her over critically. "You okay?"

"I-I'm okay, b-but—"

Mercury cleared his throat. Jet turned his gaze to him, only to widen his eyes and pull Summer to him, arms protectively surrounding her. He analyzed his surroundings critically, and frowned. He shouted to the portal, "Guys, stay there! Something is really weird!"

_"Screw that!"_

A third figure began to expand within the orb. Mercury sighed. "Lovely. Another one."

Jet sent him a dirty look. Summer merely shrank farther into Jet's embrace, watching as a feminine figure popped out of the portal. Standing at five-foot-nine, she too had silver eyes (shocker), but also sported silver hair that was held up in a neat bun with messy bangs. She donned a grey kaftan that reached her ankles with tribal, black stripes and a black lace, v-neck collar. She stood on the highest black heels he ever saw, with silver bows on her toes. He imagined without the heels she would stand at least three inches shorter. Pearl stud earrings pierced her ears and a silver necklace of a pearl inside an open clam rested between the crevice of her collar bone. While not as pale as Summer, she wasn't nearly as tan as Jet either, and unlike Jet's hysteric sprint to Summer, this second girl scanned the area calmly, assessed the two siblings clutching to each other, until finally, her eyes landed on Mercury.

"Well." She pressed her lips together in a firm line. "You're… our age."

Mercury arched a brow.

"How did this even happen?!" Summer whined.

Jet rocked her in his arms. "It's okay, Jellybean. No big, we can jump back through. No issue."

"WEEEEEE!"

The second girl spun around. She shouted into the orb, "Eirian, don't you dare—"

Jet sighed as he saw a final figure appear. "Too late. Little Diva wanted in on the fun. Might want to step out of the way, Pearl."

The second girl, Pearl, made two large steps away from the white portal with a worried look. "Look, I don't know much about this stuff, but I don't think Summer's semblance covers—"

"Obviously it doesn't!" Summer chirped worriedly. "But, but we should still be able to jump back through once Eirian gets here—"

"Okay okay, all three of you, shut up," Mercury commanded, his patience wearing thin at this point. It's not every day that a bunch of silver eyed kids opened a portal and showed up at his feet. "If one of you doesn't tell me what's going on in the next ten seconds—"

"What is going on in here?" Cinder asked with undertones of threat as she walked in, closely followed by Emerald. Mercury looked back and shrugged helplessly.

"I was hoping _they'd_ tell me." Mercury nodded his head to the three kids.

"WOOHOO!"

The last figure popped out of the portal with a squeal, distracting everyone. She slid out of the portal on her rear with her legs outstretched. Her momentum ceased once she reached Mercury's feet.

She was even smaller than the Summer girl. Her black and red hair was held up in twin buns with silver ribbons that hung from her hair a good couple feet, and her eyes were shaped similar to Jet's, and were, just like the three others, silver. Black skinny jeans clung to her legs, with red back pockets and a studded black belt that rested lopsided on her hips. A piece of black cloth stuck out of the right side of her jeans, but Mercury couldn't see what the red symbol was from the angle. She wore a red cache-cœur shirt that tucked neatly into her jeans, and ruby red earrings dangled from her ears. The three other kids groaned as the portal snapped shut after it spit the last girl out.

She shook her head with a giggle and a smile, and looked up once she noticed boots were right next to her. Her jovial expression turned innocently curious as she cocked her head to the side and regarded Mercury with a wide stare.

"Daddy, why are you wearing your old clothes?"

Freeze frame. Record scratch.

_You're probably wondering how I got into this situation—_

"...W-What did you just call me?!"


	2. Welcome to Fatherhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't have a life and I just want to fuel my Quicksilver heart so here's another chapter.

"Look, whoever that kid thinks I am, she has it wrong."

Cinder placed a hand under her chin. The four children that were spit out into their temporary hideout were now awkwardly sitting on a red couch. Jet and Pearl were on either side, with Summer and Eirian smushed in the middle. Summer was tucked into Jet's side while Pearl tried to calm Eirian's abundant energy.

Cinder directed them to a small apartment instead of the warehouse, so things were a lot less dark and depressing and a lot more… well, fancy. Since it was Cinder's personal apartment in Vale, gold and red and bits of black littered the room, an oriental, gold and red oval rug underneath the children's feet, a mahogany coffee table with a glass overlay in front of them. The wallpaper, a red the same as her dress with intricate gold sequences. Her apartment might as well been for an empress.

"They all seem to think the same," Cinder pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but...it, it's just ridiculous!" Mercury objected.

"Merc, you do realize that the kid, Jet, is like, your mirror image with a different color scheme, right?" Emerald asked tentatively, fiddling with her new, shortened hairstyle.

"You do realize that kid is about my age?" Mercury questioned rhetorically. "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure I didn't have a kid before _my own conception._ "

"I'm not saying it makes sense, I'm just saying," Emerald said with an unsure frown. "I mean… unless your father had other children and just didn't tell you—"

"No no, he just had me. I-I know he did," Mercury said, puzzled. He didn't like how Emerald was looking at him with worry, with pity, and didn't like how Cinder was looking at him with that mixture of calculation, amusement and smugness. He had to calm himself. Eyes closed, deep breath, emotionless. Eyes open. "It's impossible for them to be my children, one: because I don't want children, and two: it doesn't make sense because of the time. They look my age, if not older."

"Then let's ask," Cinder decided, already sauntering toward the four children with confidence. He didn't know why he kept referring to them as children, since they weren't really, but he didn't know what else to call them. I mean, one called him daddy. That's some weird psychological shit.

Mercury unwillingly followed Cinder, Emerald close behind, and leant against the wall close to the couch. It was mostly so he could get a good look at the kids. Jet was closest, and while he didn't want to admit it...the kid looked like him. A lot. It was creepy. Cinder sat in a comfortable armchair in front of them, while Emerald stood by her side.

"Hello there. I wanted to ask all of you who you are, and your age?"

"Um...okay," Pearl spoke up, cautious and ready to defend. "Well, I'm Pearl. Pearl Black. I'm twenty years old." Mercury winced. It didn't help that that was his mother's name, either. "These are my siblings. The youngest is Eirian, she's fourteen." Pearl pat Eirian's head before gesturing to Summer. "That's Summer. She just turned seventeen."

"U-Um, Summer Rose-Black, actually," Summer interjected. "I-I like to put our mom's surname with Dad's. Eirian does it too!"

"And I'm Jet." Jet spoke up, not willing to let Pearl introduce him. "I'm eighteen, and would really like it if you'd let us leave."

Cinder ignored his passive aggressive stare. She merely cocked her head. "And you all say Mercury is your father?"

"Yup, he is!" Eirian said happily, bumping her legs on the couch as she swung them. "But it's so weird! Daddy looks a lot younger for some reason, and his stubbly chin is all gone."

"What she means to say, is, uh—" Summer glanced at Mercury, who only stared blankly at her. She averted her gaze quickly. "It-It looks like, somehow, we were...um."

"Would you spit it out?" Mercury snapped.

"Watch it. Father or not, I'll kick your ass." Jet glared. He turned to Summer, his sharp eye softening as he nudged her. "Go on."

"S-Somehow, we were transported back in time or something, s-so, we're in a time where we aren't born yet," Summer finished.

Mercury shook his head in disbelief as he heard their excuse. His eyes darted to Cinder. She looked… intrigued. "You seriously aren't believing this bullshit, right?"

Her eyes flashed.

"I mean… it does explain the whole age thing," Emerald spoke before Cinder could lash out. "I...I don't know."

"Aunt Emerald, you gotta believe us," Jet pleaded. Emerald's eyes widened at the moniker, locked onto Jet. "Come on, you know my dad, and you can tell how similar me and him are. Look at me and tell me we're lying."

Mercury stared down Emerald with a fiery intensity that would put even Cinder to shame. _Don't you dare,_ he thought, willing her to just call this kid out on his bullshit.

Emerald stayed locked on to Jet for a long time. Eventually, she leaned back on one foot, aghast. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I believe you. I believe him."

_Dammit._

"Even if you don't believe us, we have solid proof. Eirian has Dad's emblem, but in red." Pearl crossed her arms.

"Oh! Oh that's right!" Eirian popped up and yanked the black cloth he noticed before from her waistline. He felt a sinking feeling in his gut as he realized how similar of a item he wore at all times. Eirian bounced over to him with a giddy smile, presenting the cloth to him. "See, Daddy! It's just like yours!"

Mercury's mouth went dry as he took the cloth from her hands. There it was, plain as day. A winged boot in crimson branded itself in his brain. He transferred the cloth to one hand as he pulled his own from his waistline. Black and red, black and grey. Every angle, every dimension, matched perfectly.

His silence was all the other three kids needed to know he believed them.

Pearl spoke up with some hesitance, eyeing how Eirian was bouncing in front of Mercury still. "Now, I'm not quite sure how one of Summer's portals got us here, but when we tried to go back while you all were talking, it wouldn't work. That's why we're so bent on making you believe us." She looked at her lap. "We don't know how to get home."

"A-And if you still aren't com-completely sure that we're, uh, your children, we can do a DNA test if you w-want?" Summer proposed.

Cinder nodded her head. She smiled warmly at the girl to ease her nervousness. In her mind, when looking at the kids reactions to Mercury and Emerald, made her assume that she, too, acted as an Aunt figure to the children, and decided to play along with it. "I think that's an excellent idea. I'm sure someone within our organization can conduct one for us." Cinder turned to Emerald. "Why don't you make a few calls?"

Emerald nodded mutely before practically running out of the room with her scroll. Mercury was still staring at the matching emblems, speechless. It couldn't be real. It couldn't.

"Uhm…" Summer leant forward, towards her father, carefully. "Are you okay, Dad?"

And with the title, Mercury snapped. He balled the matching cloth in his hands and stormed out of the room, not bothering to even glance at the four pairs of silver eyes watching him leave. Eirian's lower lip jutted out and started to quiver.

"Is he mad at me?" She whispered quietly. She began to sniffle and tear up.

Jet sighed and reached out to his youngest sister, pulling on her hand before she tumbled in a shaky mess on his lap. Summer allowed him to reclaim his arm, and he wrapped them both around Eirian, petting her hair. "He's not mad, Eiri, just confused."

"Yeah!" Summer chirped, rubbing her hand along Eirian's back. "You know how Dad is. Sometimes he can be weird. But remember when you first showed it to him? He was so happy, he cried a little!"

Eirian managed a wet giggle. "He tried to hide it, but Mommy wouldn't let him."

As the duo comforted the youngest, Pearl rose to her feet and addressed the last person in the room. "Thank you for being so understanding. I know this isn't exactly normal, especially for Dad. So, thanks." _Awkward. Oh, so awkward, Pearl._

"It's no problem, Pearl," Cinder reassured as she stood as well. Thanks to Pearl's heels, she was about Cinder's height. "Just sit back and let Aunt Cinder take care of you."

Pearl froze. _Cinder?_

Within seconds her mind connected dots. Cinder Fall. Fall Maiden, Salem's inner circle, main component for the Fall of Beacon. Dad's employer before Mom came into the picture. Cinder Fall, murderer of Auntie Pyrrha, the aunt she never knew but was always told about. Cinder Fall, the woman who nearly killed Aunt Weiss, Uncle Jaune, and Mom. Cinder Fall, the woman who sicced assassins on Dad. Cinder Fall. The bitch who made her parents lives hell.

Pearl knows how to act. It's a trait Dad gave to her, how to act completely aloof to the intense stuff, like how much she wanted to smash this bitch's face in for even thinking that she could be a part of her family with all the grief she caused. Poker face on. Time for the bluff.

A smile that threatened to crack her cheeks grew. Her silver eyes twinkled in relief. "Thank you, Auntie." The last sell point. She brought Cinder to her in a tight embrace, arms wrapped tight around her neck. How easy it would be to tighten the pressure, change the grip, and choke her out. So easy.

But she didn't. And Cinder, happily surprised, smiled and hugged the girl back. "Anytime."

She couldn't get her to leave the room soon enough. The moment Cinder's dress tail vanished and the door swung shut, she spun around to see her siblings staring. "Okay, Jet, just play along, okay?"

"You really think I'm going to call her my aunt?"

"You really think she's gonna let us go back home if she finds out that our mom is the reason Dad stabs her in the back?" Pearl shot back.

Jet scowled, but had no retort.

"Alright everyone, turns out we got ourselves a new aunt while we're staying here," Pearl announced. "Try to play nice and not break character, yeah?"

* * *

Mercury threw the door to his door open and barged inside, slamming it just as viciously. Damn kids with their big silver eyes and innocent expressions. It's so easy to be guilt tripped these days, bare the fact that he was almost out of his teenage years. One look at Eirian's giddy face and Summer's nervous eyes was all he needed to book it.

Running wasn't his thing. He kicked at problems. He didn't run from them. But how are you supposed to kick a problem that claims they are your unborn children from the future?

He flopped onto his bed with a groan. The grey and black sheets were messy and unmade, grey pillow twisted beyond recognition after multiple punches.

He wasn't a father. He wasn't. A chortling laugh bounced from the dark crevices from his mind.

"Shut up," Mercury hissed.

_Sounds like m'boy found himself a lay in the future._

"Fuck off, Dad."

The laugh echoed again, but Marcus left it at that.

Blissful silence. Just an hour ago he thought of it as boring, but now it was luxury. No piercing voices, no steady silver eyes, no awkward silences. Just. Blissful. Silence.

_Knock knock!_

"Oh for fucks sake!"

The door creaked open despite the book thrown at it. Emerald peeked her head in. "Damn, Merc. Angry much?" Another book hit the wall by her head. "Wait, you _read?_ "

"Emerald, does it look like I have the time for your crap?"

"Odd, normally I'm the one saying that." Emerald eased into the room without another object thrown at her. Mercury just laid down on his bed and threw an arm over his eyes. He heard her steps reach his bed, felt her crimson eyes burn through him. _No such luck, Emmy._ "Okay, Merc. Say your piece."

"What's there to say?" Mercury mumbled. "DNA will prove I'm right."

"...What if you're not?"

He shot up so fast Emerald jumped. His glare was molten. "You really believe a bunch of brats over your partner?"

"When you put it like that, it sounds bad. But… but I'm telling you, Merc, that kid, Jet, is you. Like you said, I'm your partner. I could read him like a book."

Mercury let out a groan as he flopped back onto his pillow. He felt Emerald lean her hands on the edge of the mattress, felt it through the sudden sink of his body. "I know what you're going to suggest, and it's not happening."

"Would it really be that bad?"

"Yes."

Emerald rolled her eyes. "If you spent time with those kids, you could make your own judgement about them. Maybe you'll like them. Maybe it'll convince you they're yours, maybe it'll convince you they're not."

Mercury scoffed. "You realize I'm not good with people?"

"If they really are your kids, you won't need to be."

He was silent for a long moment. Then, he groaned. "I hate you."

"Only when I'm right," Emerald replied as she walked to the door. "Just try, okay? And tone down on the assholishess, I'm pretty sure the younger two won't be able to handle it."

He grunted in response.

She opened the door. A flash of white trailed by and caught her attention. "Hey! Wait!" She ran out the door. "Summer, right?"

Mercury sat up again. She wasn't really forcing him to now, was she? Emerald tugged Summer, who was digging her heels into the carpet, into his room. Yes, yes she is.

Emerald pulled Mercury's legs off the bed, much to his annoyance, and lifted Summer up onto it. She then raced to the door before either could object, grabbed the handle, and mockingly waved. "Have fun you two!" SLAM!

He shook his head with all the malice he could muster. "What a cu—" Summer's eyes flashed over to his, eyes wide and sinfully innocent. "—cuhhrazy day, huh?"

Her eyes beelined to her lap. "Mhm."

That was it. That was her addition to the shit conversation. Mercury sighed. This was his life now.


	3. Summer Rose-Black

Summer looked around the room with a subdued curiosity with her hands clasped in her lap. She rolled her ankle round and round with her toe touching the ground, her shy personality so glaring that Mercury almost didn't want to look at her. What do you even do in a situation like this? He's not a father. Well, not now, but in the future he supposes, even if he still doesn't completely buy it, and she considers him as her father, despite his age.

Maybe they're all just playing a practical joke on him. He didn't know which one was worse.

"So…" He began, noting how Summer perked up but still held some unease in her eyes. He supposed he could understand why. "What do you kids like to do in your day?"

"Oh, um… well, I'm not exactly—" Summer bit her lip. "I'm not exactly a normal kid by our current day society."

Mercury raised a brow when Summer didn't continue. He resisted sighing. Talking with her was like pulling teeth. Minus the blood and saliva that dripped onto him. He'll never understand why Marcus went with that torture tactic, it's way too damn messy. "What do you like then?" She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Mercury rolled his eyes. "Come on, Kid. Anything. You're killing me here."

"Well…" Summer squeezed her knees. "Do you— do you know any good weapon stores?"

* * *

Walking the streets with a petite, cloak-wearing girl didn't come across as odd to him, surprisingly. Hands stuffed in his pockets, Mercury kept his head forward and his eyes on a swivel. Cinder may live in luxury, but she, like most criminals, lived in the underbelly of Vale, where it wasn't that uncommon to be threatened with a flash of the knife in broad daylight by a desperate man. A glance at his company revealed how oblivious the girl was, looking up and everywhere as they walked.

"I don't think I've ever been in this part of Vale before," Summer noted. It was the first sentence she spoke in his presence without a stutter. "W-Wait, we are in Vale, right?"

Mercury bobbed his head as an answer. "It's a bit of a walk to get to the store."

"O-Okay… what should we talk about?"

Annoyance zoomed up his throat in the form of a flippant remark, "I don't know, whenever I ask you something you turn into a stuttering mess."

Summer's face turned cherry red. She twisted her arms together and clasped her hands in what must have been an uncomfortable position and ducked her head to hide her face. Emerald's words rung through his head, and a heavy feeling dropped on his stomach. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Really? He was feeling guilt now?

Okay, question. What about… "Why'd you keep your mom's maiden name— or, her last name?" He paused as Summer peeked up at him. "Are— Are we married? Your mother and I."

Summer giggled. "Yeah, you and Momma are married. And um, you and Momma decided I should keep her name."

He furrowed his brows. "Why?"

"Well, Momma's Mom, my Grandma, her name was Summer, but she died when Momma was little. She was really close to her, and misses her a lot. So, after Pearl was born, Dad— um, I mean, you, told Momma that the next girl they have is gonna be named after her." Summer put up her hands. "And here I am."

He clenched his jaw at the mention of Pearl. "So… your sister…"

"Momma suggested the name," Summer said. "She knew you loved your mom a lot, and thought it was only right."

Mercury didn't bother to try and find a reply to that. The lump in his throat wouldn't even let him swallow. He told someone about Mom? He wouldn't do that. Even Emerald didn't know about that. But she was the one that brought her up.

"I've spent enough time with Jet to know that face." Summer poked at his arm. He flinched at the touch, an instinctive glare shot Summer's way. She recoiled. "S-S-Sorry! I didn't mean to—"

"Jet's a lot like me, huh?" _Shut up about what just happened, Kid._

"Oh, yeah. He takes after Mom too, though," Summer digressed, more confident in her sentences when talking about her siblings. "Jet's really snarky and can be apathetic sometimes, but he's the best big brother I could ask for. He makes that face you made just now whenever he's thinking really hard about something." Summer bit her lip. "So, um, if you want to ask something… I-I'll try to answer. I doubt it'll mess up anything in the future."

"How much do you know about your Grandmother? My mother?" He asked before he could stop himself.

"Well, I don't know much. You always said Pearl looks a lot like her," Summer replied. Her foot caught on an uneven piece of concrete, and he found himself catching her elbow before she fell. She smiled sheepishly in thanks. "One time, when I was younger, I asked you why I never met her. You got really quiet, and Mom told me to go play with Jet. When I looked back, you were just… you looked so sad. And Mom was just hugging you." A light blush coated her cheeks. "I felt bad for making you sad, so I jumped in your lap and wouldn't let you go until you smiled." A pause. "You have that look."

The faraway look in his eyes vanished in an instant, and the shutters in his eyes snapped closed. He didn't like how this kid was reading him like a book. He didn't like how he allegedly went soft in the future and told someone about all this. He hoped it wasn't true. He hated it.

Once those DNA tests proved this kid wasn't his, she'd just be another kill in his count. He swore it to himself. He ignored the little voice in the back of his head begging to differ.

"So… um." Summer twisted her fingers together nervously. "I guess you heard that my semblance is partly to blame for us being here."

Mercury grunted. "Or all the reason."

"I swear, I didn't mean to send us back in time! My semblance has nothing to do with time dilation, not like your semblance!" Summer claimed. Christ, this kid knew his semblance too? Great. "My semblance is sort of like my great aunt's. I can open portals around the immediate area to go through. Like teleporting!" She chirped. "I've tried to go farther, but it's difficult to do. The most I can do is open a portal to Jet or Mom. And it gives me the worst migraines imaginable."

Mercury frowned. "That's not enough to send the four of you back in time."

"That's what I'm saying! I'm no expert when it comes to Semblance Theory, but I think it was because Eirian was using her semblance. Or, or maybe because Jet was using his at the same time. I-I don't know yet, but I do know it wasn't entirely my fault!"

"So. Portals."

"Yeah. Kind of like the video game." Summer stopped walking, and Mercury slowed with her. She sliced her hand in a downward motion in front of them. A pulsating orb of white with a black tendrilled center appeared before them. White rose petals surrounded them, blooming from her white cloak. She looked up at him. "I'm not sure how exactly this relates to my personality, but it helps when avoiding large, area-of-effect attacks. Or Eirian when she decides to charge at me like a raging bull."

Summer then walked into the white portal like it was nothing, urging him to follow with a wave of her hand. He hesitated for a second, but eventually shrugged and walked through after her. He walked out an identical portal to see Summer at the edge of a rooftop. Once he walked through the portal, it dissipated with a loud, air pressurizing noise. She turned and smiled at him.

"I'm surprised you followed me!" She exclaimed, a giddy look on her face. "Back in my time, or forward, I guess, it took me weeks to convince Dad to walk through one!"

Mercury scoffed, but felt himself grinning. Just a bit. It was because she was being a little cute, and he was being a little generous, and that was that. "That's because I have less of a survival instinct at this moment." Immense sarcasm coated his tone.

Summer giggled. "Yeah, you're definitely my dad."

* * *

"Oh, this is my favorite weapons store!"

Summer wasted no time in running into the dust and weapons shop, From Dust 'Til Dawn. Her cloak was nearly trapped by the glass door, but Mercury caught the handle right before it was snagged. Sighing in exasperation, he sauntered in after her and just followed the fading white petals.

He found her drooling over weapons catalogs. A smirk slid onto his face as he lent his shoulder against the wall and crossed his arms. She didn't know which magazine to grab first, and her fingers just ended up fluttering over the shiny covers in a fruitless frenzy.

At his huff of a laugh, she turned red and pulled her hood up onto her head. "Uh, Mom takes me here all the time. Dad tags along too, sometimes. He, you, uh, he, always jokes that we're mirroring each other when we put our headphones on and just… flip open a magazine and start reading. It's silly, but… I like it."

Mercury nodded. It was slow and exaggerated and drawn out as he thought. "Weapons geek, huh?"

Summer smiled proudly. "Oh yeah! Designed my own weapon too. I mean, it's not as impressive as Mom's, but—" She pulled out a bulky, white and grey metal contraption that expanded into a mace with a rotating dust chamber in the center of the handle. "It's just a mace, but, uh, if I hit this button—" She thumbed the button underneath the rotating dust chamber and flicked her arm out. The mace detached from the handle and swung by a silver chain. "It turns into a flail! And, um, when in mace form, if I pull the trigger here—" She tapped the red trigger on the other side of the handle, easily accessible. "The mace part flies off towards whoever I was aiming at." She drew her cloak back to reveal the multiple mace-heads on her belt. "And I have extras! I call it Summer Inferno, since I mostly just use fire dust."

The smile that crawled on his face was unconscious, but once he realized what he was doing, he decided to keep it there. "Pretty cool. And the pistol?"

"Oh, this thing?" Summer placed Summer Inferno on her back and pulled the simple, black-handled pistol from its holster. "This is something Uncle Scarlet gave to me in case of emergencies. He has something similar, but his has a handle that's also a hook that he can grab stuff with! I don't use it much, but it packs a punch."

Mercury frowned at that, and pushed off the wall to approach her. "What types of dust do you use for this?"

"Oh, well, I just, um," Summer stammered as Mercury took the pistol from her hands. He held it up and looked down the barrel. Should have decent aim. Not great, but not horrible. "I use regular caliber. No dust infusion."

"That's your first mistake there," Mercury said, weighing the weapon in the palm of his hand. Good balance. Very good craftsmanship. "One thing about weapons: the more of a punch, the more result you get from dust. You want to kill or immobilize with this thing?"

"Uh, um, kill Grimm, immobilize people?"

Mercury chuckled, and ruffled Summer's hair. "Then you might as well have a revolving chamber on this, too. It may look a little weird on a flintlock, but it'll work."

He went around the store, looking at the modifications available and sizing them with the pistol. Summer trailed behind with intense curiosity. He picked out a dual-chamber modification, silver, that was shaped like an infinity sign.

"This will do. Holds six rounds in each chamber, twelve total." He popped open the chamber. "And it's not like a revolver. This type of chamber takes out the entire cycling mechanism." He tilted the chamber, and two circles fell out, devoid of bullets. "Buy dust rounds in this packaging, it'll be easier to reload and easier to deal with whoever is giving you grief. If you want to immobilize, go for ice rounds. Should freeze 'em up, easy. And for Grimm? Go fire. Or gravity dust, but it might knock you back too."

"Oh, wow, I didn't think of that. I think I'll do that when I get back!"

Mercury handed the two items, the pistol and modification, to Summer. He fished in his pocket and retrieved his wallet and pulled out a lump of lien, slapping it in her other hand. "Go nuts."

"R-Really?!" Summer squealed, staring in awe at the lien in her hand. She impulsively jumped at Mercury and wound her arms around him, squeezing tight. "Thank you, thank you so much, Dad!"

She let go and ran to the front desk, shaking with excitement. Mercury had a smile frozen on his face. Dad. _Oh Oum, that— that was a total dad thing to do. He just acted like her **dad.**_

He scowled. He wasn't a damn dad. Once the DNA results come back, it'll show them all. After all, him? Father material? Uh-uh. He wasn't one to settle down, let alone raise four damn kids.

But something about her trotting back towards him with her purchase in a nicely packaged white tote bag made his scowl go away. His lien spent, her weapons stored away, her smile bright and loving and aimed towards him—

_Oum. Oum he needed air._

"How 'bout you take another look at the magazines?" Mercury proposed. Summer didn't even notice his discomfort. She just bobbed her head in agreement.

"Okay! Thanks again, I can't wait to use it!"

She dashed off to the magazines, and he could finally feel his lungs again. They screamed for air, and he answered their demand with a huge intake of it. Dammit, what was going on with him? She was just a little brat. A little brat that called him Dad…

_Stop it!_

The Shopkeeper eyed him with what he labeled as pedestrian pity-concern. He ignored it, eyed one of the red chairs by the entrance, and parked in one. Hands clasped, forehead pressed on hands. _Focus. Calm. Focus._

So what, he bought a weapon mod for a kid. A kid who was only two years his junior and claimed to be family, but a kid nonetheless. Nothing more to it. He wanted to try the nice thing out for once, that's it. _That's it._

Ignore the surroundings. Just focus. Ignore the hum of dust machines, the flip of magazine pages. The chime of the bell opening. Focus. _You're fine, you're reading into it too much. Or, or taking it too literal. Hell, I don't know._

"Um, sir? Are you okay?"

Mercury snorted. Of course someone had to be all concerned when he was having a crisis over his future fatherhood. Wait— not fatherhood. He wasn't a father. _Shit._

He lifted his head to tell the person off, but stopped when he spotted silver eyes. Only, all the white and grey was replaced by red, and the top was replaced by a corset with sleeves. And instead of the black rose pin on her cloak, a silver rose pin was on her belt.

"How did you change so fast?" Mercury took in the red-dipped hair instead of silver. "And you dyed your hair?"

"Um, what? Do you have a fever?" A pale hand felt at his forehead. What the hell? "We've never met before. I just came in and you were hunched over." She flashed a bright smile. "But anyway, you seem okay. I'm Ruby."

"…What?" Mercury parroted her earlier phrase. "Am I losing my mind?"

The suddenly red-colored Summer-who-says-her-name-is-Ruby laughed. "Seems like it, friend. What's your name? I told you mine."

Mercury blinked. _What the… you know what. Just play along._ "It's Mercury."

"Nice to meet you," She replied cordially. "I haven't seen you around here before. I'm a regular, so I normally know everyone. Guess I'll have to add your face to the list."

"Riiiight," Mercury drawled, only to freeze at the sight he saw over Summer-Ruby's shoulder. There was Summer, frozen, staring at Summer-Ruby's back with a magazine crumpled in her hands. Oh. _Oh._

"Uh, _roses!_ " Mercury blurted out when Ruby went to turn around to see what he was staring at. Her head whipped back to him with an expectant expression. "I see you like roses." He pointed to her pin.

"Oh, yeah. Actually, it's sort of like a family emblem. Last name is Rose." She cocked her head. "Anyways, what brings you here, Mercury?"

Summer slunk behind a wall of shelves. Mercury forced himself to stay focused on Ruby, who he kind of did, kind of didn't want to know the significance of. In the back of his mind, he probably knew, but his conscious brain was a great blocker for all emotional conflict. "Just browsing. I like to see the featured weapons sometimes."

"Really? So do I!" Ruby exclaimed. "I like the student weapon showcases. You know, last issue they featured my weapon. I was so excited to see it on the front page!"

He raised his brows. "Really? April's issue, Junior Huntsmen Monthly?"

"Yup! That big ol' sniper-scythe is my pride and joy!" Ruby said proudly, hands balled on her hips. "Crescent Rose."

"Isn't that a bit big for you?"

"H-Hey! I'm more than just skin and bones!" Ruby said defiantly. "Well, in reality, I used ultralight materials and the scythe portion needs sharpening daily because of how thin the blade is. It makes it practically weightless. Can cut through anything though!"

Just then, Summer sped through the front door, nothing but a blur of white and grey. Ruby blinked.

"Well, it was nice meeting you." Mercury stood abruptly. When he looked down at her expression, she seemed almost disappointed. He tried to hide his inner panic.

"Oh, going so soon? Okay. But, next time I see you around here, I need to know a bit about those boots of yours!" Ruby bubbled up quick after the small, disappointed frown. "You hid the firing mechanisms so well, I barely caught it!"

_Wait, she noticed his boots?_ Mercury shifted one foot. _Good eye._ He wanted to cut her down for a second, tell her he wasn't coming back, but… she was a carbon copy of Summer, just with a different color palette. It was freaky. "Looking forward to it, Ruby."

He maintained his cool as he walked out the door. As he waved back at the red-cloaked girl. As he crossed the street and searched for white rose petals. Once he turned the corner, a portal appeared before him. Before he could step through, Summer jumped out right in front of him, tote bag and all.

"Um, h-hi—"

"Did I just have a chat with my future wife and mother of my children?" It came out in a burst of wind.

"W-Well… yeah."

Mercury blinked, as if he didn't expect that response, but he fully knew it was coming to punch him square in the gut. It knocked the breath out of him and made his mind turn to soup. Someone was already stirring it with a wooden spoon, leaving him without coherent thought.

"Uh, I guess, me being here changed the timeline a bit," Summer admitted. "You two didn't meet that way before."

"Okay." Mercury nodded his head slow, but his eyes just looked lost. "Okay."

Summer bit her lip. He was so out of it, she didn't think he'd notice. She would her arm through his and let herself selfishly bask in the closeness of her teenage father. "Can we go home?"

"Sure… sure."

* * *

They reached Cinder's apartment without any incidents. Summer had eventually let go of Dad's arm so she could walk ahead, let him think, process. It felt weird, but weird was a part of her family. She could take it.

Once Summer reached the apartment complex, Dad yanked her to his side. Now that she wasn't as focused on trying to start conversation, she noticed the people in the shadows eyeing her. The dark alleys and the overflowing trash cans. This was the bad side of Vale. The seedy side. Dad draped his arm over her just how Dad from the future would have, and she felt like crying. She buried herself into his side, knowing it wasn't because he thought he was her dad, but just to make the stares get less piercing. She took the warmth anyway, even though it hurt.

The moment they walked through the threshold of Cinder's apartment, he released her. She stayed in his bubble. She didn't want to let him go just yet. His eyes looked hollow, vacant. Running into Mom was the most horrible thing that could have happened, because it was just more proof that he was a dad.

Summer pushed out a shaky sigh. "Um, Dad?"

Robotically, he looked at her. "Dove?"

She reeled back. The nickname, it was… focus! Summer cleared her throat. "Thanks for taking me out. I-I had fun. An-And…" She couldn't hold back. She pushed forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, feet dangling off the ground. One of his hands went to her lower back to stabilize her. "I-I missed you. I mean, I know, you aren't dead or anything in the future, but uh, y-you've been gone, on a mission, and uh, it was really nice to spend the evening with you and I gotta go find Jet and stuff so I'll see you later bye!"

She dashed off, down the golden hall lined with red carpet, and disappeared around the bend. Toward the rooms where all the Black-Rose siblings were staying. _Oum,_ what was he thinking? Could they really be…?

He called her Dove. It just sort of came to him. She was just so naïve and pure and she had a white cloak that spread out like wings when the wind tousled it around. The look on her face told him she heard that name before. Oum.

"What was that?"

A swift turn. Emerald was standing behind him with an amused grin. The hollow look on his face dampened her mood. A silent brow was raised in question as she poured a gulp of cranberry juice into her mouth.

"I just met my wife."

Dark red spurted from her mouth and he was showered in spit-ridden cranberry juice.


	4. Family Breakfast

Waking up the next morning with the thought that your four unborn kids were still strolling around the apartment complex Cinder practically bought out was the equivalent to slamming an entire bottle of vodka the night before and waking up with hardly a coherent sentence from last night. It was confusing as hell, and left him with a wicked headache. At least, he assumed it was equivalent, because he wouldn't take a sniff of alcohol even if Cinder threatened to burn parts of his body until he was nothing but a piece of fried chicken, and, well, no one that ever slammed a bottle of vodka had to deal with time traveling kids, now did they?

He rolled out of bed with the sheets tangled in the jagged edges of his metal legs. He did the smart thing: kicked the sheets into submission until they got the fuck off him. Lumbered around the barren room, scoffed at the time, and pulled a pair of grey sweats over his metallic legs. The black nightshirt would have to do, because he didn't feel like changing just yet, and something smelled damn good in the kitchen.

Just as he let the door swing open, the white-cloaked girl, completely awake and dressed, had a fist raised to knock. He smirked lazily and arched a brow. "Dove."

The nickname sent her into a blush, but the emotion in her eyes amplified just as they did last night. Mercury didn't know what to think of it, but something fuzzy wormed around in his chest, and it wasn't all that unpleasant. "H-Hi. Um, I wanted to get you for breakfast. Cin— Auntie Cinder made us a big one!"

His other eyebrow shot up to join the first one. Cinder cooked them something? That's...new.

Summer grabbed at his hand with both of hers and tugged him forward. "Come on!"

Once upon a time, Mercury would kick the shit out of whoever decided to grab his hand, because no, physical contact, that's not happening, but the urge didn't come. Maybe it was because he knew it was an innocent gesture. Maybe because of the way she looked at him, like he had all the answers, like he meant the world and then some. Horrible judgement call on her part if she thought that of him, but hey, she was a kid, she thought he was her dad, and while he would rather crush his pop's trachea with his metallic boot all over again, he suppose he can understand why she clung to him. Father's were supposed to be doting, after all.

Summer pushed him into the kitchen, which was really like a glorified dining hall with an open kitchenette. The long table was out, the bronzed wood gleaming under the bejeweled lights, and his… _kids_ were all sitting there. Eirian and Pearl together on one side, Jet on the other with Summer quickly joining him. Emerald and Cinder were fluttering around the open kitchen with pots with sticky batter stuck to them and egg-caked spatulas. The amount of food on the table displayed their work.

Cinder was throwing them a damn buffet.

"Uh, Cinder?" Mercury broached as he walked past the kids. "What's all this?"

Cinder turned on her glass heel in a very not-Cinder way, all sass and no sensuality. "Can I not dote on my niece's and nephew from the future?"

He heard Eirian snicker from behind him, while the others stayed deadly quiet. Not the good type of quiet either. The type of quiet that was steaming and charged and made you just want to punch someone. Odd.

"You're allowed to…?" Mercury posed it as a question. Cinder rolled her eyes and waved her spatula to the head of the table.

"Sit down, we'll be right there," Cinder ordered.

He pivoted on his heel with a much too quick movement for his liking. Four pairs of silver eyes stared him down. _Lovely._

Okay. One step at a time. Pull the chair out, step around. Sit down… they're all staring. _Now what the fuck do I do?_

Mercury cleared his throat. It was becoming a common action. "So. Kids."

Jet and Pearl looked unimpressed. Eirian cocked her head with those wide eyes of hers and Summer just looked… cringe-y. Is that even a word? Whatever, she looked like it.

"Sleep well?" Please someone say something.

Summer, ever helpful after her time spent with Teen-Dad Mercury, piped up, "I did—"

Jet spoke over her, "No."

"Not really," Pearl mumbled.

Eirian just pouted with a little, disappointed hmm.

Well. That was a nice conversation. He drummed his fingers on the table.

"Kids, why don't you tell Mer— Dad about your routine at night then?" Emerald shouted from the kitchen. "Maybe he can help tonight?"

If Jet could throw daggers with just his eyes, Mercury was pretty sure he would be doing that right now. It should have freaked him out, but every move, every glance, he could read from Jet. It mirrored his own unconscious tics. The squint of his eyes, the slow, calculated slide away from the source of his annoyance.

"I-I'll start!" Summer exclaimed a little too happily. "Though my routine isn't all that special. I just hug everybody goodnight! It— It was a little weird, without Mom here, but I managed!"

Pearl hummed. She bit off a piece of bacon as she arched a brow at Jet, who merely scoffed and turned his head. She rolled her eyes. "Guess I'm next. Always make myself a cup of coco right before bed. Either with three big marshmallows or fifteen little ones. Check on all the others, make sure they're in their rooms. Then I pass out after I drain the rest of my coco." Pearl watched for Mercury's reaction, which just consisted of him trying very hard to keep an expressionless yet interested face. She sighed as she looked down at her plate and moved scrambled egg around with her fork. "Apparently Grandmama Pearl used to do that too."

Mercury tried to make a noise of acknowledgement, but it sounded like someone strangled it out of his throat. "Mhm."

Emerald and Cinder joined them at the table then, with Emerald sliding into a chair beside Pearl and Cinder next to Jet. Mercury noticed how he went rigid, noticed how his hand curled around the butter knife beside his plate in a white-knuckle grip, how his silver eyes flicked to the side of Cinder's head and seemed to glow in unadulterated rage. Mercury narrowed his eyes.

"What's your routine, Jet?"

In addressing him, Jet locked eyes with his teenage father. The grip on his knife vanished and he tried to play it off as him just grabbing it to cut through a pancake. "Don't have one."

Eirian perked up for the first time since Mercury sat down. "That's not true."

Jet wanted to glare at Eirian, but Mercury supposed her status as the baby of the quartet made him restrain himself. He merely looked at her with a pointed glance. "No, I don't."

"Yes you do!" Eirian insisted. "You pace the hallway a couple times, and, when Mommy or Daddy is around, they'll grab that big book with the pretty pictures and read a chapter to you!" She went to look at Mercury, but lost her confidence and instead locked eyes with Emerald from across Pearl's body. "Whenever I can't sleep, I join Jet and listen to it too."

"Eirian!"

"Eep!" Eirian jumped at the sudden boom of Jet's voice. Mercury's hand landed on her right shoulder a second before Pearl's hand landed on her left. For just a moment, it was silent, fingers gently smoothing over fabric and skin, before his brain caught up with what his hand was doing and he just stared at it. Then he tilted his eyes up and saw Eirian, eyes wide and unblinking, staring at him.

He withdrew his hand with such a delicate, slow movement, like he was trying to not startle a rattlesnake primed and ready to pump venom in his veins. Eirian's lips moved to smile, her gleaming teeth displayed for him. "It's okay, Jetty just doesn't yell often. It startled me!"

Jet groaned at the nickname. "You're making it worse."

"It's a very specific book, isn't it, Jetty?" Pearl asked with a smug look. One elbow on the table, she twirled her fork around with her fingers as Jet stared her down. It was the first emotion Mercury ever witnessed Pearl exhibit. She was just stoic and logical for the most part. "One that was passed on to you by Mom—"

Jet raised his hand and flicked his fingers toward her. A sound similar to the powering down of some gravitational machinery rung out, and Pearl just… froze. Mouth open to expel another word, silver eyes half-lidded and dangerous. Fork frozen mid-spin. Mercury's nose itched when a black rose petal floated by his nose.

The source of the petals were Jet's hair and coat. They peeled off his shoulders and dripped down from his hair, all the while a huge, carnivorous smirk was planted on his face. Mercury waved away the petals that were floating haphazardly around.

Cinder sat forward, intrigued. "Interesting. Jet, darling, is this your semblance?"

The smirk dropped and his jaw clenched. A moment later, he loosened his jaw and spoke, "Yeah. I call it 'Pause'. I can freeze time in a small area. Larger areas take a lot out of me, and I can't use it for very long." His grin emerged again. "But with Boss Lady here being the only one paused, I can hold this up for quite a while."

Emerald arched a brow. "You always do that to your older sister?"

Something in Emerald's gaze changed Jet's demeanor. The cocksure attitude disappeared and he cast his eyes down. Then, he sunk down in his seat. He must have hooked his foot to one of Pearl's chair legs, because suddenly she was tilted backward. He fixed his posture and clenched his fingers. The petals ceased to flow from him and Pearl was falling back with a startled yelp.

"Eiri!"

Eirian's eyes popped open and suddenly, red rose petals leaked from her. Her sterling silver eyes churned and, in defiance of gravity, Pearl was falling back up to original position, safely upright, and her arms and torso went back to her original pose during Jet's 'Pause'. The rose petals stopped flowing from Eirian, and she slumped forward as she rubbed at her temple.

"Thank you, Eirian," Pearl said. She then eased her eyes to Jet. "As I was saying. Fairytales."

"Pearl!" Jet spit.

"Uh-uh, you don't just get to Pause me and not suffer the consequences, _Jet Jasper Black!_ " Pearl scolded, eyes blazing in fury. "I told you not to use your damn semblance on me, but you just have to be a dick!"

Emerald's mouth hung open. "Are we not going to address what just happened? And why do all you kids just shed rose petals?!"

Jet ignored her. "Well this seems like a special occasion, since, you know, this isn't exactly normal company, _Pearl Ophelia Black._ "

"Guys…" Eirian whined. She rubbed her temples even more vigorously.

"Since when have we been in normal company?" Pearl retorted. "Between assassins, Maidens, Huntsmen, Wizards, and freakin Grimm-Human freaks, this is tame! It's not an excuse to be childish."

"Childish?" Jet barked. "Well, look who's talking—"

Pearl growled. "Jet, this is not the time to get into this. You're being difficult."

"Darlings, maybe you should both calm yourselves and talk this through?" Cinder said calmly, placing a hand on Jet's shoulder. He tensed and yanked his shoulder away.

_"Don't touch me."_

Mercury was bug eyed the entirety of the ordeal, but now, he was ready to duck for cover. No one talked to Cinder that way. She had her neutral face on, but the annoyance, the outrage in her eyes? He could see it. And he actually feared for his son in this moment.

Wait a minute. Not his son. Just some kid. Ugh.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Jet growled.

Pearl clenched her jaw and spoke to her brother through gritted teeth, "Jet, we are guests in this apartment, and you will show our hostess some respect."

"Oh, can it, Pearl. You may be willing to play pretend, but I'm gonna take the risk." Jet turned to look Cinder dead in the eye. "Pearl and I? Yeah, we hate you. Like, fucking hate your guts. I'm not saying why, but you did something we didn't like, and it's gonna take more than scrambled eggs and greasy bacon to fix it."

Pearl looked increasingly distressed. "Jet, just think for a second—"

"No! I didn't ask to be hurled into the past!" Jet shouted back. "I just want to go home and see Mom!"

Cinder's eyes were the color of lava. Fire danced along her fingertips. It looked like she was about to kill the boy sitting next to her. And she rose to do so.

_"DON'T HURT JETTY!"_ Eirian shouted, red petals exploding from her form as Cinder began backtracking in her movements with a dizzying speed. The fire diminished, and Cinder ended up back in her seated position, hand on Jet's shoulder. Eirian slumped further into herself after Cinder ceased her over accelerated movements.

"Darlings, maybe you should both calm yourselves and talk this through?"

Mercury's eyes were about to pop out of his head. What in the-

"Um, Auntie Cinder?" Eirian spoke shakily, hands clenched over her nose. Her skin was pale and drenched with a sheen of sweat. "Do you have something for an achy head?"

All anger from Cinder's form was just...gone. Her concerned eyes flashed over to the youngest. "Have a headache, Dear?"

Eirian removed her hands from her nose to reveal red. Blood smeared over her cheeks, her nose, her mouth. It oozed from her nostrils in waves. "More than that…"

"Oh, how did that happen?" Cinder rose from her seat and brushed off her dress, rounding the table in seconds to end up kneeling by Eirian's side. She used her cloth napkin to stem the blood flow. "Come on, you can finish your breakfast later. Let's go to my room and get you cleaned up."

Mercury and Emerald kept their eyes locked on Cinder. Why did she suddenly go all weird? What did Eirian do to her? Emerald cleared her throat tentatively.

"Cinder?" Emerald caught her attention as she was helping Eirian to her feet. The young girl hardly reached five feet. "Are you okay?"

Cinder raised a brow with a perplexed frown. "Fine. Look after the other children, please." Cinder shot her eyes to Pearl. "I'm sure Pearl wouldn't mind the backup."

Pearl managed an amused smile. It looked overly fake and forced, but Cinder didn't notice it. Mercury didn't want to admit that it was his exact smile when he's acting.

Cinder guided Eirian around the table towards the propped open double doors, but as Eirian passed by Jet, she pinched the cloth around her nose and lunged for him. Her free arm wrapped around his neck as her head rested on his shoulder. Jet sighed and reached up to pat the twin buns of hair.

"Sorry, Eiri," Jet said quietly.

"It's okay, Big Brother," Eirian cooed. "I love you anyway."

Jet scoffed, but an affectionate smile played at his lips. "Yeah yeah."

Eirian pulled away and took the hand Cinder was offering, and let herself be pulled from the dining room. Summer had her head in her hands, while Pearl and Jet were staring at each other from across the table.

Mercury placed his hands flat on the table as he leaned forward. His gaze flicked between the two older siblings. "Now's the time for an explanation on what the hell just happened."

Pearl and Jet's heads turned to Mercury with breakneck speed, alarmed looks on their faces. At his unrelenting glare, they deflated and adopted ashamed expressions. Pearl spoke after a long moment, "Eirian has a reversal semblance. She can rewind time on a specific object or person, normally herself, to avoid attacks or reverse damage she's taken. Evidently, she can apply it to other situations, but if she uses her semblance on something other than herself, it takes a lot out of her."

"So...She used her semblance to make Cinder forget Jet's speech?" Emerald clarified.

"Basically, yeah. She reversed Cinder to the point that she never even heard what he said." Pearl nodded. She looked bored in explaining it. "Only reason I remembered that Jet nearly caused me to wipe out was because Eirian has used her semblance on me so many times. With Cinder? She has no clue Jet even objected to her laying a hand on him."

"You would have deserved it," Jet muttered.

Pearl sighed. She forced out her next words, "Alright, look. I'm… _sorry,_ okay? I didn't know you'd be so sensitive about it. Hell, it's Dad."

Jet kept his eyes down. Pearl pursed her lips and diverted her eyes from her younger brother.

"As for Cinder, Jet and I have...strong opinions towards her. And while I can put aside my differences and deal with her, Jet is a lot more-"

"Intolerant of her existence," Jet said flatly.

"But Jet, you can't just explode like that," Summer interrupted softly. "Things are different."

"What did she do to make you two hate her?" Emerald asked. The worry in her eyes was heavy.

Pearl and Jet didn't want to answer, but Summer wasn't having it. She answered, "She tried to kill Momma in our own house. Pearl was only twelve."

Mercury narrowed his eyes. "Why the fuck would she do that? Why kill Ruby?"

"Well, they- wait a second." Pearl eyed him. "Ruby? How did you know that was her name?"

Mercury opened his mouth but no sound came out. He completely forgot about the chance meeting after being thrown in the middle of a family breakfast. Summer twiddled her thumbs as she worried her bottom lip.

"Um, D-Dad took me to Momma's favorite weapon store," Summer admitted. "And he distracted her while I ran out the door."

"You, you ran into Mom?" Jet suddenly looked interested, his brooding appearance fading away.

Jet's eyes on him made Mercury shift in his seat. Answering the question would be admitting that he was actually a father. Not answering the question would likely make Jet get angry all over again. _One thing for sure,_ Mercury thought, _Jet didn't inherit my ability to contain that anger… if he's even mine. It looks like Pearl has, though._

"...Yeah. I talked to her."

"Oh." Jet moved egg around on his plate.

"Oum, she must be our age. Or younger." Pearl blew air out her mouth. She pushed her near-empty plate away from her. "You weren't supposed to meet Mom there. You were supposed to meet her by Tukson's Book Trade."

Mercury scowled. "Why would I be by a bookstore?"

"Uh-"

"For the comics!" Summer chirped. "You really like X-Ray and Vav. You like to tease Uncle Sun by comparing him to Mogar."

Mercury cocked his head. "Who the hell is Mogar?"

Jet pushed up from his chair without warning. He carried his plate to the sink before announcing to the table, "I think I'm gonna check up on Eiri."

Pearl watched as he sauntered to the open doors with his hands stuffed into his suit pockets. As he vanished around the corner, she rolled her eyes. "So predictable."

It felt weird, being out of the loop. Even weirder when you're out of the loop when your very children are sitting with you. Even if Mercury didn't want to admit these are, indeed, his kids. He rubbed at his eyes and asked, "Predictable how?"

The eldest Rose-Black sibling leaned back in her chair. "Jet won't admit it, but he's a mama's boy. He's going to find her."

"Will that be a problem?" Summer questioned in a small voice.

"If Grandpa Tai and Grandpa Qrow are around? Yes. If Aunt Yang is with her? Hell yes." Pearl pushed back her bangs with her hand.

"But why? Auntie Yang loves Jet."

"This isn't the Auntie Yang we know, Jellybean. She'd punch him for even insinuating Mom has had sex, let alone popped out a kid."

Summer went red. "Oh…"

Mercury sighed. "Alright. Where does she live?"

"Wait, what?" Emerald blurted out.

"Someone has to go after him, Em," Mercury said as an explanation with a wave of his hand. "Pearl, do you know where your mother is living right now?"

"Uh… yeah. She lives on Patch. I can text you the address?" Pearl tapped her left forearm for some reason. "Actually, will this thing even work?"

Mercury cocked his head at her next action. She pulled back the sleeve of her kaftan and tapped a thin, black watch that was latched around her wrist. It beeped, and the digital clock display beamed up a silver, holographic screen that floated overtop her wrist. A silver, holographic keyboard appeared along her forearm. "I think that may be a bit too advanced."

"Hm. I'll just write it down for you," Pearl decided, deactivating her… scroll?

"It's the most recent model," Summer supplied, noticing his confusion. She raised her left arm to show a similar watch, only in white. "It's a Holo-Scroll."

Mercury just shook his head as he stood up. He took the scrap of paper Pearl offered to him with Ruby's address. "I'll deal with whatever that is when it's invented. I'll get changed and go after Jet. Pearl, Summer, look out for your little sister."

Pearl and Summer nodded in unison. "Okay, Dad."

He tried to ignore how dad-like that sounded like. And he definitely tried to ignore the huge grin on Emerald's face. As he walked to the door, he could hear the two girls standing up to follow him out the door, clearing their plates and dumping them at the sink. He didn't expect the girls to follow his request right away, but it brought a slight smile to his face.

When he rounded the corner, the smile slipped away. "Oh, great."

"Nice to see you too, Kid," Roman Torchwick drawled, his cane pressed into the floor. Neo appeared from behind him to stand by his side, that permanent smirk on her face. "Mind telling me why Cinder was ushering a little kid into her room?"

Mercury looked off the the side. "Uh, so what happened is-"

The footsteps of his future daughters came through the door and abruptly stopped, which in turn stopped his sentence. Roman's face was one of utter confusion. "Okay… more than one kid."

_"UNCLE ROMAN!"_

"Woah, what the- _ack!_ " Roman was tackled by the cape-toting sibling and nearly brought to the ground. He managed to stabilize himself while Summer hung from his neck with all the glee of a teenager with the energy of a five year old, while Neo watched with a confused frown. "Who is this kid?!"

"It's so good to see you!" Summer cheered, still latched onto her 'uncle.' "I haven't seen you in forever! Well, technically you've never seen me before but still!"

Roman, with his arms outstretched and his green eyes pinned to the side of Summer's head, looked utterly confused. Mercury felt his smirk begin to grow, and with a satisfied tone, he walked by and clapped Roman on the shoulder that Summer's head wasn't resting on.

"Well, I have to go find my son before he gets into trouble. Take care of my girl for me, huh Uncle Roman?"

"Your _WHAT?!_ "

Yeah, he just went against his instinct to deny, deny, deny his future role as a father. But the look on Roman's face? Totally worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Who's design did you like the best?
> 
> Also, this happened because I was bored. Don't blame me. Or blame me. I don't care. Okay so I might be going insane. Verdict is still out.


End file.
